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The Portfolios of Ansel Adams
"Ninety prints from the seven limited-edition portfolios of the noted photographer testify to Adams's sustained talent and continuing achievement."
152 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 1977
About the author
John Szarkowski
75 books30 followersJohn Szarkowski was an American photographer and curator best known for his role as the director of the Museum of Modern Art’s Photography Department from 1962 through 1991. “Photography is the easiest thing in the world if one is willing to accept pictures that are flaccid, limp, bland, banal, indiscriminately informative, and pointless,” he once explained. “But if one insists in a photograph that is both complex and vigorous it is almost impossible.”
Born Thaddeus John Szarkowski on December 18, 1925 in Ashland, WI, he went on receive a degree in art history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1948. After working as a museum photographer at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, he moved to Buffalo to teach photography. The artist then relocated to Chicago, where he worked on his photobook The Idea of Louis Sullivan (1956). After his appointment at MoMA in 1962, Szkarowski would help launch the careers of Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander, and William Eggleston, among several others during his tenure. He also published acclaimed books on the history of photography, including The Photographer’s Eye (1966) and Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art (1973).
After retiring from the museum in 1991, Szarkowski resumed his own career in photography. He died on July 7, 2007 in Pittsfield, MA. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among others.
Born Thaddeus John Szarkowski on December 18, 1925 in Ashland, WI, he went on receive a degree in art history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1948. After working as a museum photographer at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, he moved to Buffalo to teach photography. The artist then relocated to Chicago, where he worked on his photobook The Idea of Louis Sullivan (1956). After his appointment at MoMA in 1962, Szkarowski would help launch the careers of Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander, and William Eggleston, among several others during his tenure. He also published acclaimed books on the history of photography, including The Photographer’s Eye (1966) and Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art (1973).
After retiring from the museum in 1991, Szarkowski resumed his own career in photography. He died on July 7, 2007 in Pittsfield, MA. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among others.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 24, 2026
Ansel Adams possibly had one of the most recognizable styles in the history of photography. He organized photography tonality like Bach did with musical tonality. He changed photography while popularizing our National Parks. I suppose I’ve owned this catalogue for 30 years, and mostly it’s just part of the photo library. But it’s worth revisiting his work, presented here as a collection of his portfolios.
Not all are landscapes, and there are some compelling portraits, notably Alfred Stieglitz at his gallery, which first presented Ansel Adams to the public. But the landscapes shine through.
Szarkowski in the introduction notes that Adam’s wasn’t interested in traditional composition but tonality, and it’s clear he was a master. Every image of a tree naturally illuminated has me seething with jealousy that I’m not able to do the same.
Not all are landscapes, and there are some compelling portraits, notably Alfred Stieglitz at his gallery, which first presented Ansel Adams to the public. But the landscapes shine through.
Szarkowski in the introduction notes that Adam’s wasn’t interested in traditional composition but tonality, and it’s clear he was a master. Every image of a tree naturally illuminated has me seething with jealousy that I’m not able to do the same.
December 21, 2018
Got this collection of Adams photos at a book sale, for cheap. Have seen many Adams photos over the years, with somewhat lame feelings (a few of them were “nice”). Went through these seven portfolios slowly, and to be honest, many of the pictures just don’t grab me. But there are more than a few that make you say “wow”: McKinley and the saguaro (portfolio I); Canyon de Chelly portfolio II); the dunes, Cathedral Peak, coastal redwoods, Siesta Lake, the single tree trunk at Tuolumne Meadows (portfolio IV); the Mudhills, Lone Pine Peak, and (in particular) the White Stump (portfolio V); Aspens and (in particular) cemetery statue and oil derricks (portfolio VII).
The photos for the most part have single, clean objects of focus that makes the picture jump out. The background is soft. The John Szarkowski introduction says that’s one way to look at the Adams photos, but it is not really what Adams was about (these are “the nominal parts of his pictures”). Adams was, rather, “about the light that they modulate, the light that justifies their relationship to each other.”
A few reflections about Adams (or from Adams) that appear in the brief narratives that accompany this collection of photos:
From the introduction: “we are primarily thankful to Adams because the best of his pictures stir our memory of what it was like to be alone in an untouched world.” And, “For the photographer, large issues must be inferred from trivial data. One family picnic on the banks of the Marne, clearly seen, may stand for civilization; one unfolding fern, for freedom.”
Adams (portfolio IV): “the luminous insistence of growing things.”
Newhall intro to portfolio V: “Ansel Adams says there are only shapes — ‘configurations in chaos’ — until the artist gives them form….What is Adams trying to say to us? He says he can’t verbalize about what only photographs can say.”
Newhall intro to portfolio VI: “Adams thinks he has been typed as ‘nature boy’ too long and too unfairly….”
The photos for the most part have single, clean objects of focus that makes the picture jump out. The background is soft. The John Szarkowski introduction says that’s one way to look at the Adams photos, but it is not really what Adams was about (these are “the nominal parts of his pictures”). Adams was, rather, “about the light that they modulate, the light that justifies their relationship to each other.”
A few reflections about Adams (or from Adams) that appear in the brief narratives that accompany this collection of photos:
From the introduction: “we are primarily thankful to Adams because the best of his pictures stir our memory of what it was like to be alone in an untouched world.” And, “For the photographer, large issues must be inferred from trivial data. One family picnic on the banks of the Marne, clearly seen, may stand for civilization; one unfolding fern, for freedom.”
Adams (portfolio IV): “the luminous insistence of growing things.”
Newhall intro to portfolio V: “Ansel Adams says there are only shapes — ‘configurations in chaos’ — until the artist gives them form….What is Adams trying to say to us? He says he can’t verbalize about what only photographs can say.”
Newhall intro to portfolio VI: “Adams thinks he has been typed as ‘nature boy’ too long and too unfairly….”
August 19, 2015
"When words become unclear,i shall focus with photographs.When images become inadequate,i shall be content with silence."
March 1, 2021
Enlightening to see his works from almost 100 years ago and read his thoughts about the emotions and inspiration behind them. Obviously, the majority of his technical info is obsolete, but the creative genius will never go out of style.
April 4, 2022
This was quite lovely.
November 15, 2023
an incredible collection of some of the most enduring landscape photographs from one of the most prolific artists of our time
February 22, 2008
I discovered Ansel Adams via an excellent long doco on Austar about his childhood, his love of playing piano and listening to music, his love of the wildereness he captured so beautifully in film and his "unorthodox" (for the time) upbringing. Not so unorthodox really..his father just encouraged his pursuits, allowed him to roam, and teased out his imagination. I look at each plate and I cannot pick a favourite. As you may know, they are all in his signature black and white, but man, this guy captured tones of both that you can only marvel at. He lugged his heavy camera equipment up into very rugged mountain country in the States, plates and emulsions and chemicals too, and it was on one such mountain, one plate left, that he discovered the Red A filter. And thanks to that, we see the mountains and landscape as part of an ethereal, otherworldly cosmos.
His paintings to me are like listening to the incomparable Rachmaninov's music.
His paintings to me are like listening to the incomparable Rachmaninov's music.
June 14, 2010
My copy of this book was purchased back around 1977 when it first appeared. It has a different cover...
I bought this (years ago) for my wife, but as Adams work is art in black and white (and that fact is very important, there are some amazing photos here where the black and white shows the photo to great effect) she, being an artist and loving color (and she did love color)wasn't as taken with it. So it became mine. It's a wonderful book in general and if you like photography or are a photographer yourself I imagine it would be even better!
I bought this (years ago) for my wife, but as Adams work is art in black and white (and that fact is very important, there are some amazing photos here where the black and white shows the photo to great effect) she, being an artist and loving color (and she did love color)wasn't as taken with it. So it became mine. It's a wonderful book in general and if you like photography or are a photographer yourself I imagine it would be even better!
February 18, 2011
What's not to love. I found some new to me images in this book and that was a nice treat. We tend to think of the grand landscapes that Adams did but there are some portraits and some very intimage still life images in this collection. As I read the comments and interpretations by the author I could not help but wonder what Adams himself would have written about each image if he had a blog in his day.
August 22, 2009
It's Ansel Adams, of course it's incredible. Any house that claims to have any class at all should have the hardback version of this beautiful tribute to an incredible man in their possession, where it can be easily seen and thumbed through.
March 27, 2008
Beautiful works from one of my favorite photographers!
October 27, 2009
His art is always an inspiration.
January 8, 2014
A master of B&W, the photos are of excellent quality. They serve to show Adams' artistry and inspire others to follow in his footsteps.
A fine collection of an iconic photographer.
A fine collection of an iconic photographer.
November 6, 2015
so much enthusiasm for wilderness and nature. It seems that he traveled to so many remote places.This is the real passion for photography.
January 28, 2016
I love Ansel Adams photography. He photographs demonstrate his eye for beauty and his creative use of light. And beyond that the subject matter is breathtaking!
January 13, 2017
A beautifully rendered collection of black-and-white landscapes and close-ups of Ansel Adams. Worth taking the time to peruse once, then worth keeping handy to ponder and meditate on occasionally.
April 28, 2017
Naturally--as always with these sorts of things--I did my everlovin' best to sidestep all the windy, painfully pretentious prologues and cut directly to the pixels. :)
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August 31, 2018Amazing.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews